Pouring fitting for paint containers and the like



July 13, 1943. J z a EW 2,323,964

'POURING FITTING FOR PAINT CONTAINERS AND THE LIKE Filed June 6, 1940' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 as. g 22 27 29 -33 I 9 I, ft

INVENTOR. I4 6 ZEN AS B.ANDREWS HIS ;ATITORNEY July 13, 194-3. z ANDREWS 2,323,964

POURING FITTING FOR PAINT CONTAINERS AND THE LIKE Filed June 6, 1940 Z-Shee'ts-Sheet 2 HIS ATTORNEY Patented July 13, 1943 zsnssa POURING FITTING FOR PAINT CONTAINERS AND THE LIKE Zenas B. Andrews, Cleveland, Ohio Application June 6, 1940, Serial No. 339,144

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined dispensing valve and spout device, or pouring fitting, for receptacles adapted to contain viscous and sticky liquids, and particularly liquid materials which 'dry and harden upon exposure to air outside of the receptacle.

An object is to provide a valve and spout device for purposes such as indicated above and which is especially adapted and arranged to control the direction of flow of the liquid upon starting of the pouring operation, during continuance of the pouring operation up to full capacity flow, and down to cessation of the pouring operation, so that loss of the liquid can be kept at a minimum during the complete cycle of operation of the device and accurate measuring can be effected more readily.

Another object is to provide a pouring fitting having a liquid dispensing valve which is not subject to becoming clogged or otherwise rendered ineffective or inefficient by hardening of the liquid on the working parts of the valve.

A further object is to provide a pouring fitting and air inlet combination with an efiicient means for discharging liquid which may accumulate in the air inlet prior to pouring.

A more specific object is to provide a liquid pouring spout and valve fitting for containers, which fitting has valve ports which are mutually adjacent and contro1led by a single valve closure member, one port being initially rendered active to discharge the liquid from an air tube to condition the tube for admitting air for vacuum relief into the interior of the container, and the 2 other port being subsequently operable to discharge the liquid in the proper direction and as a uniform stream for efficient and accurately directed pouring.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description relating to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, the essential characteristics being summarized in the claims. The invention is described in connection with an embodiment especially. adapted for controlling the pouring of lacquer, varnish, glue and the like from cans, other uses for the invention being readily apparent therefrom.

Referring briefly to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of pouring fitting mounted on a container, a portion only of which latter is shown;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fitting similar to a mixing vessel or spray gun receptacle,

Fig. 1, but showing a different relative adjustment of parts of the fitting;

Fig. '3 is a side view. of the device, showing particularly the shape and relation of the pouring spout discharge opening, the air inlet opening of the valve, and a position of the valve closure member, at the start of a pouring operation;

Fig. 4. is a central sectional assembly view of a container with the fitting mounted thereon and the container tilted approximately to proper pouring position, the section of the pouring fitting being taken through the pouring spout opening, approximately as indicated at 44 on Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar, to Fig. l, but of the pouring fitting only, the section being taken through the air inlet port and centrally of the fitting, as indicated at 5-5 on Fig. 2; and

Fig. '6 is a transverse sectional view as indicated by the line B,-6 on Fig. 4.

In pouring viscous liquids from open cans, there is considerable waste and the liquid does not flow at a uniform rate and in a readily controllable direction. It is, moreover, difiicult to cut off cleanly the supply of liquid at the proper time when a definite measured quantity only must be dispensed. There is always considerable waste and inaccuracy. Various forms of dispensing valve devices applicable to containers for lacquer, varnish, paint and the like have been proposed, but none of these, to my knowledge, has provision for securing sufficient uniformity and directional control of liquid flow so that an operator confronted with the problem of dispensing a measured quantity of liquid, as into can carry out the operation efliciently from the standpoint of time and without waste of the liquid. Also, the devices already available have not had provision for controlling the direction of flow at the starting and finishing operations so as to reduce to a minimum dripping and wastage of the liquid; A serious problem is presented by lacquers and varnishes which dry and harden quickly upon exposure to air, because such materials are likely to block the dispensing outlets by hardening therein, preventing ready subsequent use of the dispensing apparatus. Dispensing valve devices with guiding spouts or channels disposed outwardly beyond the valve closure members quickly become blocked if used with materials which harden quickly upon exposure to air. The present invention overcomes the difliculties mentioned above, as will be demonstrated below.

The present arrangement of fitting, as shown in the drawings, comprises a body member I which may be a metal casting having a wide base 2 adapted to be secured to the top of a container A in closing relation to the opening provided in the usual friction-sealed-top cans, as shown, for instance, in U. S. Patent No. 1,997,291. The base 2, as shown, has a substantially cylindrical flange portion 3 adapted to enter the top opening in the can, as shown in Fig. 4, press fitting tightly therein, and an overhanging flange 4 adapted further to seal the opening as by being pressed against the top wall B of the can surrounding the opening. Rising from the base 2 is a hollow, generally cylindrical extension 6 which is eccentric to the base 2 and which in the applied position of the fitting to the can is very near the rim of the top thereof, so that in the pouring position (Fig. 4) of the can, the extension can receive and discharge practically all the contents through valve ports of the fitting. The valving'po'rtion l of the extension 6 is frusto-conicalin form and is'machined with a frusto-conical'valve seat face at 8, shown as having a 45 included angle taper. At the base of the valve seatgthe extension I is relatively undercut to facilitate finishing of the valve seat surface, and to prevent the liquid from flowing from the face 8 to the extension 6.

To provide a pouring opening or spout which is normally wholly closed-outwardly,"th'e 'wall of the extension 1 has a lateral bore 'or passage l0, preferably a cylindrical bored hole,- the outer end of which intercepts the frusto-conical'valve seat surface, and the inner end of which communicates with the interior of the body adjacent an inner boss ll (Figs. 4 and 6). The'axis of the bore I may be offset from the center of the hollow extension but otherwise it is substantially at right angles to the portion of the frusto-conical valve face which it intercepts. Said axis of the bore i0 is inclined relative to the axis'of the extension 6 at about 67%;. Thus, in the pouring position of the container and fitting (Fig. 4) which in the illustrative example is an inclination of about 22% relative to the horizontal, the axis of the opening Hl-is substantiallyvertical and the lowermost portion of the 'frus'toconical surface 8 is horizontal. l

Secured in part by the boss ll, aswill be de scribed later, is a cap-like valve closure member I4 having a skirt portion which partially su'rrounds the frusto-conical extension 7 and has its inner surface complementary to the valve seat surface 8. The closure member has an end wall l6 extending across the top of the extension i in spaced relation thereto. The boss H carries an'air inlet tube ll which extends from the boss toward one corner of the container A, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, terminating close to the container bottom C so that the inner end of the tube is uncovered by the liquid contents of the container in the pouring position thereof. The tube can be threaded into the boss as' at H3 in line with an opening 20 (Figsj5 and 6) which communicates at one end with the tube and outwardly intercepts the valve seat surface 8 in close proximity to the spout opening I 0, as'shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. Preferably, the axes of'the two openings Ill and 20, as viewed in 'plan (Fig. 6) are convergent outwardly awayfrom the body at an angle of about 9. The air inlet opening 20 and the spout ID are thus generally directed toward a common point a short distanceaway from the valve, as will be seen from Fig. 6.

To provide a discharge wall or lip for the pour ing spout i0 and a ledge beyond the wall or lip and discontinuous with the frusto-conical sur-- face 8, the outer portion of the opening 20 is enlarged at 29a, as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6, and one side of the enlarged portion 20a may be made substantially concentric with the opening ID. The lip or wall is designated 2| and is constituted by the metal between the two openings, as best illustrated in Fig. 3, the outer edge of the wall being formed by the frusto-conical surface of the extension 7 so that the two openings can be fully closed by the valve closure member M. The ledge indicated at 22 is a suiiicient distance away from the wall 2| so that liquid discharged from the spout opening l0 and tending to cling to the valve extension I and to travel around the valve seat in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6 is not likely to pass beyond the ledge in the tilted position of the container shown in Fig. 4.

The inner frusto-conical surface of the closure member I4 is held in close contact with the valve seat of the extension I by a spring,25 seated in a counterbore 26 in a tubular portion 21 of the closure member, the spring being forced against the bottom of the counterbore by the head 28 of a screw 29 which engages a threaded opening 30 inside the boss H. The skirt portion of the closure member (Figs. 1 to 3 and 6) is open to expose the valve seat 8 for a distance somewhat more than sufiicient to enable both openings l0 and 20 to be uncovered, there being an abrupt wall at 3| on one 'side of the open part of the skirt and a beveled surface 32 terminating in a thin edge 33 at the other side. To control the outlet afforded by the spaced portions 3| and 32 of the closure member with reference to the spout opening Ill and airinlet opening 20, the closure member is provided with a handle 33 extending from the hollow boss 21 and overhanging the valve at one side. An indication such as a groove 35 on the base 2 may be provided to call attention to the proper turned position of the container about its longitudinal axis for pouring.

As mentioned above, the position of the pouring fitting when starting to pour liquid therethrough is at such an angle that the bore 10 is approximately in absolute vertical position (Fig. 4; cf. Fig. 6) and the lowermost portion of the frusto-conical face '8 is horizontal. Thus the liquid tends to become discharged straight downwardly by gravity from the opening 10 without clinging to the walls of the opening. Assuming a closed position of the valve in which the beveled portion 32 is approximately in the position thereof indicated in broken lines at 32.1: in Fig. 6, the first operation is to rotate the closure member suihciently so that the thin edge 33 lies over the narrow wall 2| (as in Fig. 3) exposing the outlet of the opening 20. The closure member is allowed to remain in this position until all liquid which may have accumulated in the tube IT has run out, aifording a clear passage for air into the container through the tube ll. Then the closure member is turned further clockwise until the pouring spout opening I3 is fully exposed. At the initial exposure of the pouring openinglll, or in other words, when only a small portion of the opening is exposed adjacent the narrow wall 2|, the liquid, because of being deflected by the overlying portion of the closure member, and because of the inherent tendency of the liquid to cling to the valve, has a tendency to travel in a lateral direction beyond the wall 2! toward the enlarged outlet 29a of the opening 20. Initially depending upon the velocity of flow of the liquid, the same either drops off the narrow wall 21 or is caught by the ledge 22 which is located at the lowermost portion of the frusto-conical extension 1 and caused to drop therefrom. Since after leaving the partially exposed opening ID, the only force tending to carry the liquid around the extension 1 is capillary attraction, there is little or no likelihood of any of the liquid coming into contact with the ledge 22, but if it does, it is discharged therefrom by gravity the ledge acting as a second discharge lip. Upon turning of the closure member [4 into the position shown in Fig. 2, thus entirely exposing the pouring spout ID, the liquid flows smoothly from the spout at a constant rate, varying somewhat, of course, because of gradual reduction in the hydrostatic head of the liquid in the container.

The operation in closing the valve is substantially the reverse of that already described and during this operation the thin edge 33 functions as a cut-off knife to remove any liquid that may have clung to the frusto-conical seat surface of the extension I about the two openings. Such small amount as may remain on the cut-off knife and adjacent part of the valve seat can readily be wiped off.

From the above description it will also be seen that the basic construction of the fitting is such that it can be very easily and simply manufactured and readily taken apart, fully exposing all parts, for cleaning, as when it is desired to change from one color of coating material to another.

The operation of discharging liquid from the air 3 inlet tube can of course be accomplished simultaneously with the operation of pouring from the main port, spout l0; and in such case, because the spout I0 is considerably larger than the tube passage, the liquid in the tube would be sucked back into the can. However, the preferred operation is as previously described, in which the likelihood of waste as by misdirecting the discharged contents of the container is reduced to a minimum. It is further apparent that if the port In is opened while liquid is still draining from the air tube and passage 20, the two streams will be joined and pour in the proper direction as a single stream since the discharge openings are separated only by the thin wall 2| and are convergent in the desired direction of pouring.

I claim:

1. A pourin fitting for containers, said fitting comprising a hollow body adapted to be mounted on a container, said body having a valve seat of circular cross section and having a pouring opening leading outwardly to and terminating at said seat, the body having a recess leading inwardly from the seat closely adjacent the said pouring opening and separated circumferentially of the seat from said opening by a relatively narrow wall which terminates radially outwardly at said seat, and a valve closure member turnably mounted on the body and with an inner surface complementary to the seat, the closure member being open at one side so as to expose the opening, the radially outward surface of said narrow wall and fully to expose the recess in one turned position of the member.

2. A pourin fitting comprising a hollow body adapted to receive liquid from a container and having a frusto-conical valve seat portion projecting therefrom, said portion having a pouring opening terminating outwardly at said seat and having its axis substantially vertical in a pouring position of the body in which a lower face portion of the valve seat is horizontal, said body having a recess terminating outwardly at said seat adjacent the opening circumferentially of the seat, a relatively narrow wall terminating outwardly at said seat and separating the recess from the opening, and a valve closure member turnably mounted on the body and with an inner surface complementary to the seat, the closure member being open at one side so as to unseal the pouring opening, expose the outer surface of said narrow wall and fully to expose the recess in one turned position of the member.

3. A pouring device of the class described comprising a hollow body having a projection of circular cross section presenting a smooth curved outer face, said projection having a laterally directed pouring opening communicating with the interior of the body and leading to said face, and an air vent opening leading to said face in close proximity to the pouring opening, and a closure member embracing the projection and having an inner surface complementary to said face and arranged separately to seal the pouring opening and air vent opening, said member being open at one side so as to unseal and expose the openings one after the other in predetermined turned positions of the closure member.

4. A pouring device of the class described comprising a hollow body having a projection of circular cross section presenting a smooth curved outer face, said body being recessed to provide a pouring opening communicating with the interior of the body and open to said face, and an air vent opening leading to said face in close proximity to the pouring opening and closely beside the same circumferentially of the projection, and a closure member embracing the projection and having an inner surface complementary to said face and arranged separately to seal the pouring opening and air vent opening, said member being open at one side so as to unseal and expose the openings one after the other in predetermined turned positions of the closure member.

5. A pouring device of the class described comprising a hollow body having a projection of circular cross section providing a smooth curved outer face, said body being recessed to provide a pouring opening communicating with the interior of the body and said outer face, and an air vent opening leading to said face in close proximity to the Pouring opening and beside the same circumferentially of the projection, the axes of the openings converging at a narrow angle toward a region a short distance outwardly from the projection laterally of the axis thereof, and a valve closure member complementary to said face and adapted to block and unblock the openings.

6. A pouring fitting for liquid containers, said fitting comprising a hollow valve element having a perimetral wall of circular cross section providing a curved exterior valve seat surface, a valve closure member complementary to the curved surface of the valve element turnable thereon having a skirt portion embracing the valve element, the closure member being open at one side and the opening extending to the edge of the skirt portion in a manner to expose a considerable portion of the curved surface of the valve element, said valve element having a pouring passage extending through its Wall and open to the seat surface and elongated in the direction of pouring of material therethrough, said open side of the closure member being materially larger than the discharge end of the passage so that when aligned with the passage liquid can be poured through the passage clear of the closure member.

7. A pouring fitting for liquid containers, said fitting comprising a hollow valve element having a perimetral Wall of circular cross section providing a curved exterior valve seat surface, a valve closure member complementary to the curved surface of the valve element, turnable thereon and embracing the same, the closure member being open at one side in a manner to expose a considerable portion of the curved surface of the valve element, said valve element having an internal pouring passage extending through said perimetral wall and having its discharge end opening outwardly at the curved surface of said wall, said open side of the closure member being materially larger than the discharge end of the passage so that when aligned with the passage liquid can be poured clear of the closure member through said passage, and a tapered cut-01f knife carried by the closure member at one edge of the side opening thereof and bearing against the curved surface in such position as to be moved. across the discharge end of the pouring passage upon turning of the closure member.

8. A pouring fitting for liquid containers, said fitting comprising a hollow valve member having a perimetral wall portion of frusto-conical form externally thereof and centrally closed at its smaller end, said member having a lateral pouring opening extending from its interior to the frusto-conical surface, a closure member of frusto-conica] form embracing said wall portion and open at one side to expose the pouring opening in one turned position of the closure member and enabling the opening to be sealed in another turned position of the closure member, a pin extending outwardly axially of the closed end of the valve member, an axial projection on the closure member having an axial opening surrounding the pin and with its surface in generally spaced relation thereto around the pin, a spring in the space so provided and acting inwardly against the closure member axially thereof to hold the frusto-conical surfaces in sealing contact, and a shoulder on the pin bearing inwardly toward the hollow valve member against the spring.

ZENAS B. ANDREWS. 

